Dallas residents who live in homes with alleyways say the city is not listening to their concerns about potentially kicking their service to the curb.
That's after the city's Department of Sanitation Services has continued to recommend options for transitioning some alley trash pick up service to a curbside model — despite pausing the plan for more than a year due to strong resident opposition.
Melshire Estates resident Bruce Orr said they were told the city would look for creative solutions to keep alley trash service.
"They didn't do any of that," he told KERA. "Instead, what they're doing is trying to slant this towards what they really want to do, which is get rid of alley service, despite the overwhelming majority of people not wanting to give it up and be willing to pay."
During Wednesday's City Council briefing, staff suggested three options that would end alley trash pick up for homes with alleyway pavement nine feet wide or less and equipped with front driveways That would impact anywhere from 5,000 to 26,000 homes. A fourth option also was presented, which would be for the city to continue with the service as usual.
Director of Sanitation Cliff Gillespie has said narrow alleyways results in routine equipment and private property damage. He also said workers have been pinned, run over, and faced near electrocution from overhead utility lines in the alleyways. However, no data on the number of incidents were provided.
Varying alleyway conditions — like overgrown vegetation or damaged pavement — have contributed to these incidents, but staff have said the main issue is that some alleys are too narrow for the city's standard trash trucks.
Alley pick up represents 37% of the city's trash collection, Gillespie said, but 58% of damage reports.
"Any level of transition that we may go with here removes crews from those constrained alleys and high risk situations," Gillespie said.
Several neighborhoods in Dallas built in the early to mid-1900s were designed with alleyways for trash pickup. Some residents view modern issues with the system as the city's responsibility to adapt.
A survey mailed to just under 44,000 residents with alleyways nine feet wide or less was sent out late last year. That survey asked residents if they would be willing to pay extra to keep their alley service — out of 10,158 respondents, 60% said they would.
Residents have also spoken at town hall and council meetings about the city purchasing smaller trucks that would fit in their alleyways.
After months of back and forth, residents like Bradley Williams continue to ask the city council to listen to their concerns and explore more options.
"If safety is a concern, outsource it," Williams told council members. "If staffing and equipment are the issue, outsource it. If cost is the problem, outsource it."
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said she did not think it was appropriate to move forward with any transitions until staff have explore outsourcing options.
Gillespie said evaluating private service models would be part of the research and development work moving forward.
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert added that staff will continue to evaluate options to address alley trash pick up concerns, including looking at potential third parties.
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